How to reduce file size ?

Hi,I am a newcomer and I still have a lot to learn about Camstudio.After some troubles at the beginning, I finally succeeded in saving .avi files, thanks to some of this forum's threads.Now my problem is that 1 second record with no sound = 1 MO !!!! which is way too heavy.

I need to record something like a tutorial regarding a website, so I mean : not a movie, no video games, just a simple video with no big effects.

I'd like to make a video with a ratio like : 1 minute = 1.5 or 2 MO which is fine I think.I have tried several settings but haven't succeeded in finding the right one.Can anyone help me please?

PS : I have not found any answer in the forum and I think this would be a great help to get the best settings for several basic types of videos, for example : -basic tutorials like mine-DVD movie-video games-etc...

Comments

Terry Britton, our resident guru, recommends xvid as the compressor, especially the version done by Jawor. Terry and another member did a series of experiments with different compressors. They concluded that xvid produced the best combination of quality and small file size.

Go get and install Jawor's Xvid, using his HD720 profile, with the Xvid quality slider all the way to the left (at 1) or perhaps up to 4. Be certain to click the "Other Options" button at the bottom of the configuration dialog and un-check the "Display Encoder Status Window" check box.

Use these settings: Set Key Frames Every: 30 to 200; Capture Frame Every: 40ms; Playback Rate:25fps. Those should work. If recording only mostly-still screens, Set Key Frames Every: 100-200; Capture Frame Every: 100ms; Playback Rate:10fps will work just fine. Use MCI for recording in the "Audio Settings for Microphone" and set it up to use Stereo Mix if recording games. The audio portion will be large, but the file will still be well below the 2GB file size limit when using Xvid.

Can we get ffdshow to operate in camstudio 2.6? It is good quality and creates small file sizes. With version 2.5 I get a 600 KB file for 10 second clip. With 2.6 and using xvid mpeg-4, I get 3 MB for the same 10 second clip!

Further to my request for ffdshow - I forgot to add the following: using xvid mpeg-4 in version 2.6, a box appears at top left on the screen. It is empty, all white and won't go away. Can this be corrected? Also, I tried the default Microsoft Video 1 and the same 10 second clip was 7 MB, far too large for the 10-20 minute lessons I make.Thanks

Soon - if Nick has anything to do with it (as ffdshow is his favorite), we will have a version that will show that and the other missing codecs.

As to the darn box in Xvid - in the configuration dialog, at the bottom, click the "Other Options" button and un-check the "Display Encoding Status Window" item. Why they have that checked by default is beyond me.

It isn't ffdshow vs xvid, actually. it is the profiles and compression/quality settings that affect the size. Both are using MPEG-4 containers and work very similarly.

Don't ever torture yourself with Microsoft Video 1 unless you enjoy the "special effects" it makes with the enormous blocks, holes, and other strangeness at virtually any setting!